Dean Del Mastro - The Hits Keep On Coming

Dean Del Mastro is Harper's Parliamentary Secretary. He is also the point man for the Cons in dealing with the election fraud scandal. He is currently being investigated for cheating on election expenses (if found guilty he could face 5 years in jail).

Now, it has been discovered that there appears to have been some illegal contribution activity towards Del Mastro's campaign.

So far, the guilt here points to Dean's cousin, David Del Mastro, and the people who were paid to make additional contributions for David. But, there is no evidence (yet) that Dean knew of this contribution plan.
 
Excerpts from The Ottawa Citizen: Employees linked to cousin’s company each gave $1,000 to Del Mastro campaign:

The Elections Act prohibits donors colluding with others to “circumvent” the prohibition against an individual donor giving more than that amount to a candidate in an election.

Elections Canada records show that the Peterborough Conservative Electoral District Association received 12 donations in the amount of $1,000 each, dated Sept. 19, 2008, from people with links to the company, as described in the former employee’s statement.

Then, on Sept. 26, Del Mastro’s campaign received another seven donations of $1,000, also from people who were friends of Deltro employees, or friends or family, according to the former employee. Another friend of a Deltro employee donated $1,000 on Sept. 25.

Most of these donors are listed with addresses in Brampton or Toronto — nowhere near Dean Del Mastro’s Eastern Ontario riding of Peterborough.

...

 

... three donors to Del Mastro’s campaign or riding association, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, say they were asked to make $1,000 donations and were reimbursed by Deltro for the full amount plus a $50 bonus.

“It was put, ‘We need to find some people to make $1,000 donations,’” said one former Deltro employee.

Numerous sections of the Elections Act forbid donors from exceeding the individual limit on donations by concealing their donations and forbid others from helping to conceal the real source of a donation.

In a statutory declaration produced at the request of the Citizen and Postmedia, the former employee said David Del Mastro approached the then-employee and said he wanted him to make a large monetary donation to his cousin’s campaign.

The former employee signed the declaration before an Ontario Commissioner of Oaths.

The former employee was asked to make a donation of $1,000 of personal funds and was assured the company would provide reimbursement for the same amount with a “$50 bonus,” the declaration says. The donors could also claim the donation as a deduction on their tax returns.

Employees were also asked to enlist friends or family to make similar donations, the former employee said.

...

He [David Del Mastro] said it was reasonable to believe that his employees volunteered to each give $1,000 to a candidate running for election in a riding three hours away.

Amazing. 

What a lot of people think of Stephen Harper right now

This picture from the This Is Not My Government Facebook Page, is currently going viral on Facebook (at least).

Considering the history of his Conservative government, and the current destruction of Canada he is pushing through parliament with his omni-mess budget bill, it is no wonder that this picture is popular.

Smack Stephen Harper

Frustrated with Harper and his government of looters in suits lying to us and taking our money to spend on jets that don't work and jails we don't need, and cheating to get elected? Take your frustrations out at Smack Stephen Harper!

After smacking him a few times, leave a comment.

Rob Ford Is Doing Bad, Bad Things

Centa says the questions of whether Ford improperly took funding from his family company and overspent his campaign limit are important to the provincial Municipal Elections Act, and to democracy itself.
“Mr. Ford was, and is, represented by excellent counsel and we think the interests of justice are best served when both parties are represented by capable counsel to . . . allow the court to make the best decision possible.”
Ruby cites the same pro bono principle but is more pointed when it comes to Ford’s conduct.
“I think (Ford) is doing bad, bad things,” Ruby said. “It’s not a left-right thing . . . He came in as a bully determined to demonize anyone who disagrees with him, and is a person whose approach to governance is not what I think is in the Canadian public interest.
“If Mayor Ford gets a pass, for whatever reason he may advance, why would everyone not get a pass, and then integrity doesn’t have the importance that the legislation of Ontario placed on it.” 
- From the Toronto Star: Mayor Rob Ford vs the lawyers

Rob Ford's Pattern of Knowingly Disobeying Conflict of Interest Rules

Ford's pattern of disobeying conflict of interest rules at City Hall goes back to 2005. This list further proves that there is no way Ford can claim ignorance in the new case against him that could get him kicked out of the mayor's position.

See The Toronto Star: Ford's conflicts of interest date back to 2005

Mayor Ford On Trial. Could Be Removed From Office

Rob Ford is to stand trial for conflict of interest for speaking on and voting on a motion in council that would personally benefit him financially. If the judge is convinced that Ford wilfully broke the rules, then Ford will be removed from office, and the judge would then also decide if he will also be banned from running for public office again (and for how long).

It will be very difficult for Ford to claim that he made a mistake, that he wasn't aware of the rule, because he has been in public office as a councillor for many years, AND he has previously recused himself when he knew there was a conflict of interest.

Clayton Ruby is the lawyer arguing the case against Ford in Superior Court on March 23, 2012.

For more details, see the article in The Toronto Star: Could Mayor Rob Ford Be Removed From Office Over A Conflict Of Interest?
and in the National Post article,
and at the CBC
BlogTO
and a lot of details here at OpenFile
See also:
The Grid: The Case To Remove The Mayor: Another Instance of Anti-Ford Bias?
I am neither a judge nor a lawyer, but the basic, so-far undisputed facts of this case suggest that the mayor had an obvious financial interest, and that he debated and voted on the matter anyway—voting to excuse himself from $3,150 in fines.

It would appear that the only defence that could save Rob Ford from being removed as mayor is that he, after 10 years as a councillor and one year as mayor, did not recognize that he had a financial interest in a vote to save himself $3,150 in penalties. And further, that none of the people he pays to advise him, as the head of Canada’s largest municipality and the CEO of the $9 billion corporation of the city of Toronto, could recognize this interest either.

So the pro-Ford line on this—the balancing piece of information that could save his job as mayor—is that we elected a man too stupid to understand the most obvious element of one of our primary anti-corruption laws and, further, that he staffs his office with people who cannot understand them either.


All Fired Up In the Big Smoke: His Own Worst Enemy
He knowingly flouted the rules. He ignored the council sanctions brought down on him for flouting the rules. He then participated and voted to overturn those sanctions. It is the last thing that has got him into his current troubles. It’s always the last thing that gets you into trouble.

Like I said, I won’t give his rabid supporters the satisfaction of hoping this is a firing offense. But please, stop defending the mayor as some sort of lightning rod for scurrilous attacks, a well-intentioned politician never putting his own career first, and only ever looking out for the little guy. Personal gain isn’t always about money directly into your pocket. For Rob Ford, it was never about the money but about the image. An image he burnished while skirting rules, thumbing his nose at colleagues and the Integrity Commissioner and, once elected mayor, actively participating in avoiding facing the consequences of his actions.

Nobody’s demanding perfection in our politicians but at some point of time there has to be accountability. That time came yesterday for Mayor Rob Ford.
 

Crooks & Liars: Harper and his Conservatives and their Election Fraud

We've always known, via an ever-growing mountain of facts, that Harper and his Conservatives are crooks and liars. Will this election fraud situation be the addition to the mountain that will raise it high enough to fall over the wall of denial built by those gullible and ignorant Canadians who continue to vote Conservative against their own best interests?

At the moment, polls show that the Conservative core support still stands behind them. But a smoking gun has not yet been produced. Still waiting on the investigation by Elections Canada.

NDP vs The RoboCall Scandal

The corporate mainstream media has been doing a pretty lousy job of giving fair coverage to the official opposition party, the NDP. Someone who didn't know better might think the Liberals were still the official opposition party in Canada when reading the big daily papers (on-line or the paper copies).

To fill in the gaps on what the NDP has been up to in parliament with their concerns about the Election Fraud/Robocall scandal, here are some links:

Feb. 23, 2012
Use of dirty tricks to disrupt voters shameful - Harper must answer for use of voter suppression tactics by Conservative-linked firm

Reality Check: Prime Minister's local riding campaign linked to RackNine

RCMP, elections comish must find and charge those responsible - New Democrats write to Elections Commissioner pledging support for investigation

Dear Conservatives: please explain those misleading phone calls, again

Feb. 24, 2012
Reality Check: RackNine's "political superweapon"

Feb. 25, 2012
Reality Check: RackNine's government cheque

Feb. 26, 2012
NDP write to elections commish with new info on vote suppression - list of ridings where voters faced alleged suppression tactics grows

Feb. 28, 2012
Reality Check: Dean Del Mastro debunked - polling stations not changed

March 2, 2012
Statement by New Democratic leader Nycole Turmel on the investigation by Elections Canada

NDP Reality Check: Dean Del Mastro vs the truth

Rob Ford Continues To Waste Your Money Hiding His Crime

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1118538--mayor-rob-ford-s-lawyer-calls-audit-order-a-waste-of-money?bn=1
Rob Ford's lawyer, in yet another desperate plea "to prevent an audit of his [Rob Ford's] campaign expenses" ... "told a judge the forensic audit would be “a waste of taxpayer’s money”.

If Rob Ford was innocent, he would cooperate with the investigation instead of doing everything he could to stall and block the investigation (which would save taxpayers a lot of money). 

This is something that could result in him being removed from the mayor's office if he is found guilty.

Toronto Prevails Over Ford Nation in Budget Vote

Liveblog: City Council's Final Debate on the 2012 Budget

The people of Toronto can breathe a sigh of relief (for now). For the most part, the majority of Toronto City Council voted against the mayor Rob Ford's plan to gut city services.

Centrist rookie councilor Josh Colle moved to reverse most of Ford's planned service cuts. Council voted 23-21 in favour of the motion.

Other motions to save city services also passed:
- To save the libraries from an additional $3.9 million in cuts - passed 22-21
- to give Toronto Community Housing the $ they saved in property taxes rather than shunting it to overall surplus - passed 33-11

Still not safe yet: 3 dozen TTC routes will have their service reduced.

I must commend the centrist councilors who finally showed some backbone tonight.

Outside, the protest got a little heated and there were a few arrests as the crowd decided to try to enter City Hall:
Live: Protest Outside City Hall Budget Talks

See also:
http://torontoist.com/2012/01/city-council-reverses-many-key-ford-cuts-passes-budget-the-mayor-never-wanted/

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1117267--james-ford-loses-the-gamble?bn=1#.TxZIS6vqIqd.facebook

Details from Now Magazine:

Cuts reversed Tuesday include: 

• Restore $2.3-million in funding to community grants, including HIV prevention and programs geared towards seniors, youth, and immigrant women in priority neighbourhoods
• Avoid the closure of the Downsview Dells, Birchmount, and Bellwoods shelters
• Maintain crowding standards and wait times on TTC routes slated for reduction
• Preserve current service levels at libraries, including hours, programs, and material collections
• Continue free recreation programming for youth and seniors at priority centres
• Avoid the elimination of the Women’s Immigrant Health Centre
• Maintain school based childcare rent subsidy
• Avoid closure of three city-run childcare centres
• Keep ice-rinks open during off-peak hours
• Maintain programs at shared-use pools in TDSB schools
• Reject $2 user fee for drop-in swims at pools
• Provide funding to keep three staff positions at the Toronto Environment Office
• Allow the Toronto Community Housing Corporation to keep $6 million in tax savings
• Maintaining mechanical leaf collection

Same Sex Marriages For Foreigners Living In Canada Nullified?

You have probably all read, by now, the news stories from Jan 12th about how the Harper government has come out saying that marriages no longer count between gay couples who have come from countries where gay marriage is illegal.
This is not actually true.

What's true is that there is a current court case where a gay couple who do not live in Canada, came to Canada, got married and then left Canada, then came back to get a divorce. Now, since they did not reside in Canada after getting the marriage, the marriage is not recognized to be valid by Canadian law. This is no change in how the law has been for a very long time in Canada.
See:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/kevin-kindred/why-nobody-gets-it-and-everyone-is-an-idiot-a-series-of-indeterminate-length/10150462308551080

However, what is getting people upset, and justifiably so, is that, 
A) we know full well that the Harper government would love nothing better than for this law to be misinterpreted in the courts to mean that foreign gay couples who have continued to reside in Canada after being married here are no longer legally married.
and
B) Harper did absolutely nothing to reassure Canadians that gay couples living in Canada, who came to get married here and have stayed living in Canada, are still legally married and that what is happening in the court case right now will not affect them. He just said he was not aware of the court case.

A supporter of equal rights and gay marriage would have reassured Canadians regarding this issue in the courts. We know that Harper, his government, and his core supporters are vehemently against gay marriage and would do anything they could to set equality back in Canada.

Olivia Chow on gay marriage

Sorry World

Sorry World
A site apologizing to the world for having let Stephen Harper become Prime Minister

Toronto City Budget - The Problem Is Ford

Numbers Game | Toronto Media Co-op
The City budget is not and has never been in a financial crisis according to figures released by the Wellesley Institute, an urban health research and policy institute in Toronto.
...
Ford, along with the rest of the administration's allies have often repeated the $774 million deficit number as the current shortfall that has to be covered in order to balance the city budget. The perceived 'high number', along with proposed major cuts to key services such as childcare, nutrition programs and libraries, have scared a number of residents and prompted a backlash. This has allowed the Ford administration to promote a wider range of smaller cuts with less backlash.
...
The irony of the $774 million shortfall number is that it has been exacerbated by the Ford's decisions to freeze property taxes in 2011 and eliminate the vehicle registration tax. If property tax increases were maintained at the GTA average (3% a year) and if the vehicle tax was not eliminated, no cuts would be necessary.
...
“So we haven’t overspent for the last seven years, I guess,” Doug Ford said at budget deputations to Robert Cerjanec, a university student union representative. “Do you have any solutions to help the problem?”  It was a question asked repeatedly by Ford-allied councillors.
Surprisingly, neither Cerjanec, nor most of the 300+ deputants referred to the Mayor's own Core Service Review consultation.
The consultation, which polled over 13,000 Torontonians in depth-on their budget priorities, found that participants overwhelmingly supported increasing "property taxes to keep the same level of City services." 
Not increasing "user fees or taxes even if this means reducing the level of service" had the least support. The mean recommended "property tax increase for all participants was 5.15%."

The big question that Ford Nation supporters and trolls frequently ask is "do you want your taxes to increase to pay for these services?". As you can see by the above survey of 13,000 Torontonians, the overwhelming answer is YES.

Harper Government Cuts to transfer payments to provinces should surprise no one

Canada News: Ottawa to scale back health transfer payments - thestar.com
This has been Harper's plan all along - cut federal money spent on healthcare and social services. The premiers should not be surprised that the federal government is going to reduce the transfer payments.
Of course Harper's looters in suits will continue to waste Canadians' money on more corporate tax cuts and buying non-functioning fighter jets and building un-needed superjails.

Rob Ford: Coward of the Year

2011 Villain: Rob Ford | NoIndex | Torontoist

Rob Ford campaigned on lies, and blatant lies at that. A tough man in his position would fess up and admit he was mistaken about Toronto’s finances (or, alternatively, admit that he purposefully deceived the Toronto electorate so he could become mayor, and the question of which of the two of these scenarios is more accurate relies on your belief as to whether Rob Ford is more greatly motivated by malice or stupidity), but Rob Ford isn’t doing that.
Rob Ford is not a tough man. Rob Ford is a coward. The sooner we all recognize that, the better off we will all be.

Rob & Doug wasting Toronto Money - Again

Toronto agency backed by Mayor Ford spent $55,000 on single-source contracts - The Globe and Mail

Asked if there was a discrepancy between his anti-sole-source rhetoric and his backing of sole-source waterfront proposals, he said “it all depends” before referring all further questions to Michael Kraljevic, president and CEO of Toronto Port Lands.
“There are circumstances when sole-sourcing is acceptable,”
How much would it have cost for Rob and Doug to run their plan by council to see if they would support it before going ahead and spending $55,000?

Rob Ford's Gravy Train amount: $55,000

Rob Ford = Fundamentally Undemocratic

Toronto mayor feuds with Canada's biggest daily
Conter likened Ford's war against the media to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's tight limits on media access during the recent election race, during which he only allowed five questions from reporters at each daily news conference during campaigning.
"With the five questions, it isn't just vetting questions, it is limiting access to the prime minister," said Conter. "So it is effectively blocking access to a whole bunch of people."
The concept, said Conter, seems to have inspired Ford in his war against the Toronto Star.
But it goes against the democratic duty of public officials, he added.
"Public officials in a democratic country have the duty, if not to answer all the questions of every reporter, at least to disseminate amongst all media press briefings, announcements, all that sort of thing," said Conter. "To cherry pick who you send your releases to is fundamentally undemocratic."

And, from the Huffington Post:
The recent revelation is that Rob Ford is holding the Toronto Star hostage by refusing to speak to it and provide it with news releases. The paper claims his staff are actively attempting to keep it in the dark on media stories provided to all other outlets covering Toronto City Hall, highlighting a dangerous abuse of power threatening to erode fundamental societal foundations. (Ford has since denied freezing out the Star.)
 ...
What's next for Toronto? Why don't we just close down all press and open an official propaganda office so that Mayor Ford won't have to worry about who writes what about what he is doing with other people's money in a city he shares with millions? The Chinese do it. North Korea seems to be OK at it. Soviet Russia must have left notes behind on how to run a propaganda office.

Rob Ford's Budget Con Job - "a giant scam being perpetrated on the citizens of Toronto."

The Grid TO | Budget 2012: Rob Ford's sleight of hand

If Rob Ford hadn’t cut or cancelled all those taxes, we’d have enough to cover the entire budget hole without eliminating a single bus route, library hour or arts grant, without laying off a single staff member, and without drawing on reserves.

Just to repeat so it’s perfectly straightforward: Dollar-for-dollar, every single cut in the 2012 operating budget was made necessary by Rob Ford’s 2011 tax cuts. Period.

An unnamed “top official in Rob Ford’s office” told Robyn Doolittle of the Toronto Star that this was the plan from the beginning. In November 2010, he said that because of the tax cuts, the “safety net” would be gone: “Councillors will be forced to approve whatever we put forward.”

There are many Torontonians who think the city overspends on staff salaries, grants to community groups, bike lanes, transit and all kinds of other things. That’s fine. An honest politician could make that case, and cut those services deemed unnecessary or unwanted. And then, with the savings, that honest politician could either redirect the money to more necessary programs or cut taxes. Plenty of people would disagree loudly with those decisions, but at least the process would be prudent and truthful.

Instead, Ford cut revenue first so that a “crisis” would force us to cut services even if we thought they were necessary or desirable. It’s as if you looked at your household budget, decided that your spouse’s decision to buy organic vegetables rather than regular ones was making it a challenge to get ahead, and then quit your job as the first step to solving that spending problem. You could try to blame your sudden inability to pay the mortgage on your spouse’s gourmet-food habit, but it would remain obvious that your decision to eliminate income was the real cause of the crisis.

That’s what Rob Ford has done here. He calls it “respect for taxpayers,” but it looks more like a giant scam being perpetrated on the citizens of Toronto.

Toronto G20 Protests - Police Officers Were Given Orders to Make Illegal Arrests

Toronto News: Man settles G20 lawsuit, claims police brass ordered false arrests - thestar.com

Officers detaining Wall on June 27, 2010, told OPIRD investigators they were instructed to arrest people wearing bandanas, masks or gas masks concealing their identity. One officer said he was told to search anyone with a backpack, and if that person refused, he or she could be arrested for obstructing police.

Davin Charney, Wall’s lawyer, said the report shows the many unlawful arrests of that weekend were not just the result of a few bad apples or overreaction from front-line officers. “The orders must have come from the top.”

More gangster politics/backroom dealing from Ford Nation

NOW Magazine // Daily // News // Mammoliti slams door on councillors
Giorgio Mammoliti, acting on behalf of the mayor, barred councillors Kristyn Wong-Tam and Janet Davis from the recent Child Task Force meeting. The meeting was supposed to be an open meeting. Wong-Tam just wanted to observe, and with good reason - she sits on the Community Development Committee, which delivers childcare.

Ford, during the campaign, said he would put an end to what he called "sweetheart backroom deals". But, since being elected, he has turned around 180 degrees on this issue. Ford's been keeping the majority of council in the dark on many things, and now this.

Ford appointed Mammoliti to the child care task force back in July.
Its goal is to investigate alternative funding models for the child care
spaces the city subsidizes, and many observers believe Mammoliti will
recommend privatization. Wong-Tam and Davis would strongly oppose that
move.

“Whether or not they agree with my politics or I agree with
their politics is not the point,” Wong-Tam said. “The point is we have
to respect our democratic civil institutions and the tools that give us
good government.”